Chapter 63 The Letter from That Year
After the fierce conflict with Liu Chen that night, Emperor Xiao Ziran of Nanyue was disheartened, but was tormented by great unwillingness and a glimmer of remaining hope.
Liu Jin's resolute hatred did not seem fake. Could it be that there was something he didn't know back then?
He summoned Meng Liang, the guard who had been responsible for delivering letters between him and Liu Jin and was his most trusted confidant. This man had been with him for nearly thirty years and was one of the few absolute confidants he brought from Nanyue.
"Meng Liang" Xiao Ziran's voice was hoarse, and his eyes were like a hawk staring at the middle-aged guard kneeling below.
"I'll ask you just once. Back then... did you personally deliver the letter I asked you to deliver to the Celestial Emperor, Liu Jin? Have you ever read the contents of the letter?"
Meng Liang's body trembled slightly, and his head lowered even more, but his voice remained steady. "Your Majesty, I did deliver the letter... Your Majesty was not at the palace at the time, so I delivered the letter to his personal eunuch as instructed by Your Majesty. How dare I peek at the contents of the letter?"
"He gave it to his eunuch?" Xiao Ziran's eyes were sharp as knives. "What did that eunuch look like? Did you confirm that Liu Jin received the letter afterwards?"
Beads of sweat oozed from Meng Liang's forehead. "It's been a long time... I... I can't remember what the eunuch looked like... But since it was given to someone close to His Highness, I believe... I believe he received it..."
"Guess?!" Xiao Ziran slammed the table and stood up suddenly, with a terrifying murderous aura emanating from his body.
"Meng Liang, look me in the eye and answer me! I want to hear the truth. Is there anything wrong with that letter from back then?!"
The immense pressure and imperial wrath left Meng Liang unable to hold on any longer. He slammed his head to the ground, his voice trembling with fear: "Your Majesty, calm down! Your Majesty, calm down! This subordinate...this subordinate deserves to die!"
"Speak!" Xiao Ziran's heart sank to the bottom in an instant, and a cold chill rose from the soles of his feet.
Meng Liang collapsed to the ground, tears streaming down his face, and finally revealed the secret that had been buried for nearly twenty years.
"It was...it was the late emperor! It was the late emperor who forced me to do this! When the late emperor discovered your relationship with His Highness Liu Jin, he was furious. He...he detained my family and forced me to replace the letter you wrote...the letter asking His Highness Liu Jin to wait for you...with...with a heartless letter! I had no choice...no choice..."
Boom——!!!
It was like thunder from the sky exploding in my mind!
Xiao Ziran felt dizzy, his vision went dark, and his body shook violently. He held on to the corner of the table tightly to avoid falling down!
Actually...actually it's really like this?!
The pain, resentment, and self-persuasion he'd endured over the past twenty years... Liu Jin's hatred and indifference over the past twenty years... all stemmed from his father's manipulation of the past! It stemmed from a despicable scheme!
"ah--!!!"
Xiao Ziran let out a painful roar like a wounded beast, and suddenly swept everything on the table to the ground!
His eyes were red, and he looked like a madman! "Why?! Why didn't you tell me earlier?! Why?!"
He rushed forward, grabbed Meng Liang by the collar, and almost lifted him up.
At this moment, another old minister who had been standing by and was also Xiao Ziran's confidant knelt down.
"Your Majesty! The late emperor issued a strict order that if Meng Liang dared to reveal even a single word, his entire family would be killed! After the old emperor passed away, Meng Liang did not want to say it... but
...but seeing you...seeing you seem to have accepted the fact of breaking with the Emperor of the Celestial Empire, even...even often saying, 'Since he has betrayed me, I will forget him'...
Furthermore, since you have just ascended the throne and are facing internal and external troubles, we...we simply dare not disturb your Majesty's heart with old matters!"
"and……"
The old minister raised his head and looked at Xiao Ziran's painfully twisted face, his voice filled with sorrow and pity.
"Your Majesty! Ask yourself, even if Meng Liang had told you that back then, would you have believed it?
For his sake, you remained single for your entire life and still have no children. If you had known it was a misunderstanding earlier, you would have spent the past twenty years... wouldn't you have... wouldn't you have..."
The old minister could not say anything more and could only kowtow deeply.
Xiao Ziran seemed to have lost all his strength. He suddenly let go of Meng Liang, staggered back a few steps, and slumped in the chair. His face was as pale as paper, and his eyes were empty and desperate.
Yes... How could he not believe it? Wasn't it because of that "heartless letter" that he was completely chilled and forced himself to hate and forget?
He even used Liu Jin's "betrayal" as an excuse to convince himself to take over the throne and govern the country... It turned out that all this was a scam!
A scam led by his biological father that ruined his and Liu Jin's lives!
In the past twenty years, he hated the wrong person, and Liu Jin also hated the wrong person.
They should have been a loving couple, but they were forcibly separated and tortured each other for twenty years!
And he even took his anger out on the innocent child, and was even... harming the child!
Thinking of his vicious plan, Xiao Ziran felt a fishy-sweet taste rising up his throat and he suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood!
"Your Majesty!" Meng Liang and the old ministers were horrified and hurried forward.
Xiao Ziran pushed them away, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand, his eyes filled with endless regret and pain.
"I was wrong... all wrong..." He muttered to himself, his voice breaking. "Liu Jin... I'm sorry for you... I'm even more sorry for that child..."
Just as Xiao Ziran collapsed and vomited blood because of the truth, Donggong suddenly fell into greater panic!
When Crown Prince Liu Xiao woke up today, he felt extremely tired, dizzy, and even a little nauseous.
He just thought it was due to fatigue from days of hard work, so he forced himself to go to court and handle government affairs in the study.
The second prince Liu Cong was accompanying him as usual. He keenly noticed that Liu Xiao's condition today was worse than in the previous few days. His face was pale and his eyes were even a little dazed.
"Your Highness, if you are not feeling well, you can rest today. The ministers will handle the government affairs." Liu Cong advised worriedly.
Liu Xiao shook his head and wanted to pick up the red pen to review the memorial, but he found that his fingers were shaking slightly uncontrollably and the words in front of him began to blur.
"I...what's wrong with me..."
He shook his head, trying to stay awake, but he felt dizzy and his ears were buzzing, as if countless bees were flying around.
"Axiao!" Liu Cong saw that something was wrong with him and immediately stepped forward to support his shaky body.
At this moment, Liu Xiao suddenly raised his head, but his eyes were no longer as clear as usual, but filled with a strange and terrified light!
He grabbed Liu Cong's arm tightly, his nails almost digging into the flesh, and his voice was sharp and distorted:
"Who are you?! What are you going to do?! Let me go! Father! Father, save me! There's an assassin! There's an assassin trying to kill me!"
He seemed to be in extreme fear and hallucination, and began to struggle violently with astonishing strength.
He pushed Liu Cong away, staggered backwards, and knocked over the tea set on the table, making a sharp cracking sound!
"Xiao'er!" Liu Cong was so frightened that he rushed forward and hugged him tightly, ignoring his kicking and struggling, and roared towards the outside of the hall.
"Call the imperial physician! Call the imperial physician quickly! Seal off the East Palace! No one is allowed to enter or leave!"
The entire East Palace was in chaos in an instant!
The eunuchs and palace maids were so frightened that they turned pale, and the guards immediately blocked all the passages.
Liu Xiao was shaking violently in Liu Cong's arms, sometimes talking nonsense, sometimes screaming in terror, and sometimes falling into a brief faint. Fine cold sweat oozed from his forehead, and his face was frighteningly pale.
The imperial physician came crawling over, and when he saw the prince's appearance, he was so frightened that his face turned pale.
After taking his pulse, his expression became even more solemn: "Your Highness's pulse is rapid and chaotic, sometimes deep and sometimes slippery. Your mind is scattered and your liver is agitated... This... This seems like you've been poisoned by a very powerful soul-stirring poison!"
"Poisoned?!" Liu Cong's eyes instantly turned red, like an enraged lion. "Investigate! Investigate thoroughly for me! Who did it happen to?! What poison was used?!"
He suddenly remembered the box of "Concentrating Incense" sent by Emperor Nanyue!
Although he was under strict surveillance, could it be that he was using other methods? Or was there a traitor within the Eastern Palace?!
The news that the prince was poisoned and in a coma swept through the entire palace like the most terrible plague, and spread to the Yangxin Palace and Nanyue Mansion at the fastest speed.
Liu Jin was already troubled by border military affairs and the feud with Xiao Ziran. When he heard the bad news, he was like being struck by lightning!
His eyes went dark and he almost fainted, but Fu'an held him tightly.
"Xiao... Xiao'er..." Liu Jin's voice was filled with great fear and disbelief, "How could he be poisoned?! Where's Liu Cong?! How did he protect the prince?!!"
He rushed out of the Yangxin Palace like a madman and ran towards the Eastern Palace. The emperor's majesty was gone, leaving only the most primitive fear and panic of a father.
Meanwhile, in the Nanyue Inn, Xiao Ziran, who had just learned the truth and was immersed in endless regret, was struck by lightning when he heard the guard's panicked report!
"The poison took effect... so quickly..."
He muttered to himself absentmindedly, his face paler than paper.
His original plan of slow torture was actually brought forward and intensified due to the unexpected combination of "Drunken Butterfly Powder" and "Concentrating Incense"!
And the effect is so intense!
This wasn't what he wanted... He had only wanted... only wanted...
A huge sense of guilt and fear instantly overwhelmed him! Not only had he misunderstood and let down Liu Jin, but now he had even poisoned Liu Jin's son?!
"No... No! Antidote! Yes! Antidote!"
Xiao Ziran suddenly grabbed the old minister beside him
"The poison mixed with 'Drunken Butterfly Powder' and 'Concentrating Incense' is not without an antidote! It's recorded in the secret records of the 'Shadow Owl Guard'! Quick! Go find it! Find the antidote! Quick!!"
He yelled hysterically, on the verge of collapse.
The old minister crawled and rolled to look for the confidential documents he carried with him.
At this moment, Emperor Liu Jin had already rushed to the East Palace and saw his beloved son lying on the couch, unconscious.
"Xiao'er——!" Liu Jin rushed to the bedside, and looking at his son's painful appearance, his heart felt as if it was being tortured to death.
He turned his head abruptly, his red eyes fixed on the kneeling imperial physician and the pale-faced Liu Cong. His voice was like that coming from the Netherworld, filled with murderous intent:
"Investigate! Investigate for me! No matter who it is! No matter what means they use! I will cut him into pieces and exterminate his entire clan!!!"
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